When the boys found out that we would be reviewing a SpongeBob game, they waited by the mailbox like Charlie Brown on Valentine’s Day.  They could not be more excited to actually play a game based on one of their favorite cartoon characters.  To win the game, all you have to do is get four tokens in a row, which can be on the diagonal, and you win.  That is not where the fun comes into this game, though; it comes from trying to get those all precious tokens.  To break the review wide open from the start, the boys loved it, along with my husband and myself.

 Let me start out by just letting you know what comes with the game:  some solo cards, some combo cards (more on those later), tokens, pad and pencil, a die, decoder goggles and Cranium Clay.  On your turn you roll the die, which tells you to either pick a solo or combo card.  If you win on a solo card you can put your token on any open spot.  Just remember no one can place a token on top of the one you put down if you won on a solo card.  The combo card works a bit differently, as you and the player who got the right answer can put their token on the same spot.  The person that picked the combo card gets to select the spot.  Also, you can only make four in a row if you win on a solo card.  If no one gets four in a row, the player with the most tokens on the board wins.

Remember that pad, pencil and Cranium clay?  Well those things, along with the acting and puzzles, make this game something of a crazy fun fest.  We played with four people – myself, my husband, and our two boys.  We had to help our younger read the things that he had to do, so whichever parent read the instructions did not participate that round.

The activities listed on the cards included a sampling from many classic games.  Some of the cool things that we had to do included drawing different things a la Pictionary, (a fun twist was also sculpting things out of clay rather than drawing), acting out different activities or occupations as in Charades, answering Trivial Pursuit type questions (about SpongeBob, of course), and looking around the house for different items.  All the activities were timed, so nothing was allowed to go on too long. The kids absolutely had a blast.  Since there are so many different things to do during the game, it keeps everyone’s interest much longer than a more repetitive game would.

As a parent I might have been a bit skeptical on what sort of game this would be, but after playing I have to give it a gold star on many different levels.  The characters were easy for the children to relate to, and the social skills and creative techniques used really made me feel like the game was teaching while being fun.  We played a bunch of rounds of the game, and I can already tell that it is going to be in heavy rotation during our gaming sessions around this household.  I suggest you pick it up and add it to the regular gaming sessions around your house, as well.

KID CRANIUM: SpongeBoB SquarePants Edition is jam-packed with acting, puzzling, sketching and sculpting fun.  As the first-ever licensed CRANIUM game, KID CRANIUM: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition will have kids jumping out of their seats, channeling their inner actor or sculptor to earn Bikini Bottom tokens.  Families can celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the popular Nickelodeon character from their own living rooms with this game of action and adventure.

Please note:  Our review copy of Kid Cranium: SpongeBob Squarepants Edition was provided by Hasbro.

Beastly is coming to theaters on July 30th 2010 so the hype machine is starting to really ramp up a bit.  We have two pictures from the movie and some sort of what looks to be an ad that is an animated gif to show you today.

In case you forget the cast list includes: Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris, Mary-Kate Olsen, Alex Pettyfer, Peter Krause and many more.  They sure packed the stars into this modern day take on “Beauty and the Beast” where a NY teen is transformed into a monster to find true love.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray tells about the adventures of Cameron, a teen who has contracted Mad Cow disease and is dying. That may seem to be a grim idea to write a book about, but in Libba Bray’s talented hands, Going Bovine becomes a masterpiece of one teenager striving to live life to its fullest in the time he has left to him. It has its sad moments, but it is a celebration of life, and Cam’s cross-country travels to find the mysterious Dr. X who may hold the key to curing the disease and saving his life.

There are references in the novel to Cervantes’s famous novel, Don Quixote, and Cameron’s trip to New Orleans a fellow student (who also happens to be a dwarf), where he meets up with the Norse god Baldur, who has been transformed into the form of a lawn gnome by the trickster god Loki, is one of the book’s many highlights.

The trio end up headed to Florida during Spring Break, and to a Beach House that is being used by an MTV-like television program. Loaded with tons of musical and cultural references, as well as the ones to Norse mythology, Going Bovine is one of the best Y/A novels I’ve had the pleasure to read during the last decade. It’s very different from other novels Libby has written, such as the Gemma Boyle trilogy which concluded with The Sweet Far Thing. It demonstrates Libba’s ability to stretch her creative abilities to their utmost. It’s a book you’ll want to add to your reading lists, and one I highly recommend!

As per our post at the BSC-throne world listing the complete winners list, Pixar grabs yet more awards with Up. In hindsight all of the award bodies should have just sent the trophies to Pixar when it comes to the soundtrack/score, as their claiming of the Grammys for Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and Best Instrumental Composition last night just adds to the pile they already have in that category: The Golden Globe, the Critics’ Choice

Think they may be a BAFTA favorite later this month? This just in: Michael Giacchino is pretty good.

It’s not just the music either, as Up has landed on the year’s Top Ten list of Ebert, picked up the PGA Award (Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures), the People’s Choice Award (Favorite Family Movie), took home the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, and the was recognized by the AFI as a Top 10 Film of the year, and took home National Board of Review and Annie honors.

Not a bad year for my favorite film studio!